“Idealism”

Hand-built, one of a kind ceramic, oxide and pigment patina.

40″h, 17.5″ w, 23″d

SOLD via Guardino Gallery, Portland

What would constitute the ideal way of being? — that “if everyone would live this way” the world would be a better place?

This sculpture is a symbolic attempt to combine all the most desirable and/or necessary attributes for navigating our post-911 world into one being. I used such things as musculature, balance, gaze, posture, animal analogs, relative scale, and line/curve/form/volume to represent the following dualities:

gentleness / aggression
trusting / wary
intellect / belligerence
defensiveness / vulnerability
predator / prey
grace / brutishness
power / impotence
selfishness / altruism
shortsighted / farsighted
apathy / engagement
fight / flight
civility / ruthlessness
ingenuous / cunning
individuality / conformity
intimidation / graciousness
innocence / cynicism
hero / coward
leader / loner
hope / fear
compassionate / callous
fun loving / stick in the mud

Gentleness sounds good, but too much of it and tyrants will rule. Heroism sounds good, but what if those protected aren’t worthy of the hero’s sacrifice?

I don’t mind looking strange to others as I struggle to concoct the optimum balance of attributes to ethically deal with today’s out-of-balance world. To quote Michelle Obama when asked about the seeming hopelessness of fighting the drug war, “So, what…are we supposed to give up?!?”